Austria: The domestic cement market has declined by around 25% over the past three to four years since the end of Austria’s recent construction boom, according to the Association of Austrian Cement Producers (VÖZ). Nevertheless, cement plants produced 4.53Mt/yr of cement in 2025 - a 0.4% year-on-year increase from 2024. Although CO₂ emissions per tonne of cement fell below 470kg for the first time, the sector’s total CO₂ emissions rose by 2.6% to 2.14Mt.

Sebastian Spaun, managing director of the Association of Austrian Cement Producers (VÖZ), said "The fact that Austrian plants have nevertheless produced slightly more cement recently is solely due to additional exports. However, this strategy cannot be sustained in the long term."

The fact that emissions rose more sharply than cement production itself is attributed to higher clinker production. At 467kg of CO₂ per tonne of cement, domestic production is among the lowest-emission in the world, according to the VÖZ. However, the industry has to compete with companies whose products are subject to much less stringent regulations.

"The Austrian cement industry has done its homework and has been investing hundreds of millions of euros for years in decarbonisation, the circular economy and innovative CO₂ capture technologies," said Spaun. "Local waste cycles now provide the energy for clinker production, and fossil fuels have been phased out of cement plants by around 90%."

The association puts the thermal substitution rate at 88.8%. Fossil fuels are largely being replaced by non-recyclable waste materials. In addition, alternative raw materials are used in clinker and cement production. 25% of the raw materials used come from recycled construction waste from old buildings. In total, the domestic cement industry utilises around 550kg of substitute materials per tonne of cement produced.

Spaun added “Without CO₂ storage, pipelines and affordable industrial electricity, zero emissions by 2040 will remain a pipe dream."

Bolivia: Peru-based Grupo Gloria reportedly paid former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero €200,000 for lobbying the government in Bolivia on its behalf for compensation relating to the nationalisation of Fábrica Nacional de Cemento (FANCESA). The Demócrata online newspaper cites a report it has seen issued by the Central Unit for Economic and Fiscal Crime (EDEF) in Spain. Three payments totalling €200,000 were made in 2024 and 2025 to the former politician. The UDEF document alleges that the lobbying used “commercial contracts that it considers fictitious to justify payments.” In response the Bolivian Senate has approved the creation of a special investigative commission to explore the issue.

The investigators believe that the transfers were made to Zapatero in connection to a legal battle between Grupo Gloria’s cement subsidiary Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (SOBOCE) and the Bolivian state-run company FANCESA. SOBOCE previously owned a minority stake in FANCESA until its nationalising in 2010. It has sought compensation since then. SOBOCE was later acquired by Grupo Gloria in 2014. However, in late June 2026 the Supreme Court of Bolivia dismissed an appeal by SOBOCE and upheld a judgement requiring it to pay around €94m to FANCESA following an unfair competition case.

Pakistan: Cement dispatches rose by 7% year-on-year to 50.5Mt in the 2025 – 2026 financial year, that ended on 30 June 2026, from 47.1Mt previously. The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) reports that domestic sales increased by 9.5% to 41.5Mt from 37.9Mt, according to the Pakistan Today newspaper. Exports fell by 2% to 9Mt from 9.2Mt.

By region, cement plants in the north of the country saw local dispatches grow by 10.8% to 34.7Mt but exports dropped by 53.9% to 0.8Mt. Those in south reported a boost in local dispatches by 3.2% to 6.8Mt and exports rose by 9.4% to 8.2Mt.

An APCMA spokesperson said that cement demand was expected to remain strong in domestic and international markets in the months ahead. They added that high fuel and energy costs continue to negatively affect the cement sector.

Morocco: Cement deliveries fell by 1.3% year-on-year to 6.8Mt in the first half of 2026. The decline to May 2025 was greater, but June 2026 saw a considerable boost in sales, according to L'Economiste newspaper. The rebound in construction activity has been attributed to large-scale projects requiring substantial one-off deliveries of construction materials, including cement. Bagged cement supply linked to the self-construction sector has fallen so far in 2026, but bulk orders for bigger projects have increased in response to infrastructure projects linked to the government’s latest budget. The trend is anticipated to continue into the second half of 2026.